


Lullaby for a Setting Sun

by zanthe



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Gen, Just some more world musings, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:40:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29072682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanthe/pseuds/zanthe
Summary: Watching the sun, Shulk thinks about a conversation he'd shared with Alvis.
Relationships: Alvis & Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Kudos: 13





	Lullaby for a Setting Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Been struggling to write anything lately, hi.

  
The gentle roar of the waves and the wind that blows over them is not too different from a lullaby, Shulk thinks to himself. The sun is setting in the distance, and it paints the world around him in a warm, orange glow. The sand here is black, the waters stained crimson, a result of what remained from Mechonis, they had discovered not too long ago.

  
Fondly, he remembers his surprise towards the first day on this new world, how the shadows changed with the sun, how hot the light burned and yet how comforting it felt, how alien it was. 

  
_"Your old home's sun was a mass of ether that accumulated and dispersed in a cycle, giving you day and night. The sun in this world is a burning mass located much further away, and it will burn for longer than you'll ever know." Alvis had explained to him, eager to share knowledge of this world._

  
_"Burning? Like fire?" Shulk had asked, tilting his head curiously. He remembers Alvis's smile when he responded._

  
_"Yes, like fire. Fire so hot and so large it holds itself together with its own gravity. Perhaps you will discover more on your own, with time."_

  
_Shulk frowned at that, "Is that a 'you' as in me, or a 'you' as in us mortals?" The AI merely chuckled, and never answered._

  
They sat in silence then, as Shulk sits in silence now, watching the last few rays of light dip beneath the horizon, leaving him on now cooling sand bathed in the blues of night. 

  
He looks up to the stars with a smile, "And then I asked..." 

  
_"Alvis, is this how the world will be forever?" Shulk didn't look at him, just stared at his shoes, curling into a tighter ball._

  
_"Are you homesick, Shulk?" His voice was soft, and Shulk recalls Alvis's little sigh when he ever so slightly nodded. "I understand. I feel the same at times." It was oddly comforting knowing even Alvis missed home sometimes. "To answer your question, I suppose it will be. Forever is a long time, and I can no longer gaze into the future. The way this universe is will not change, but you will still shape the world you live in."_

  
_Shulk meekly nodded at that, and they fell into silence once more._

  
Now, he stands up with a sigh, dusts himself off, and enjoys the strange new smell of the ocean before turning home, wondering when he'd see his friend again. 


End file.
